Skylar: Hero of Morrowind
by Spirit Studios 2012
Summary: Follow Skylar as he works to find out where he is and why he is there as he struggles through each and every obstacle to become the hero of Morrowind! Rated T for mild adult themes, violence, blood, and language.
1. Morrowind: An Adventure Begins!

**Hey all! If you're currently reading my Star Fox piece, I guess this is as good a time as any to tell you all that I am putting that production on hold right now, reason being I need to do a serious revamp of both the prologue and the main story itself. Sorry if you were looking forward to it! For now, just enjoy my little story "Skylar: Hero of Morrowind!"  
><strong>**_**

Morrowind: An Adventure Begins

He awoke to a gentle swaying motion, like he was a newborn baby being cradled in a mother's arms. How he had gotten there, he couldn't remember, only that he had a paper due in two hours and had instead spent the night playing video games on his piece of shit computer. He was just really starting to stir when someone spoke to him, "Wake up."

He responded by somehow leaping several feet into the air from lying position and screaming, "HOLY CRAP! Who's there!" He looked to see a rather shocking looking man with a likewise shocked expression. The man who spoke was like nothing he had ever seen before: dark, ashen skin; a single piercing red eye; a scar running down the right side of his face, blinding the eye so that it was a dull brick red in comparison to the left one; and pointed ears. He was only able to stare at the strange man.

"W-we're here," the man continued. "Why are you shaking?" He had not realized it at first, but he had been shaking ever since he had woken up, before he had seen the strange, dark-skinned man. "Are you ok?" He was not sure. Suddenly, the memory of a dream came back to him, a beautiful voice echoing throughout, saying: _"They have taken you to the Imperial City's Prison, first by carriage, and now by boat. To the east, to Morrowind. Fear not, for I am watchful. You have been chosen."_ He nodded, still reeling from all that was happening.

"Wake up!" the man said again, reaching down and grabbing him by the arm, pulling up. "Stand up. There you go." He dipped his head in a gesture of thanks, as his voice had yet to return. "You were dreaming."

_"Thanks for the update, Captain Obvious,"_ he thought to himself as he came to his feet.

"What's your name?" the man finally asked.

"Skylar," he said weakly, his voice still struggling to come out. "Yours?"

"Jiub," the man replied. "Well, not even last night's storm could wake you." There was a storm? "I heard them say we've reached Morrowind." Where? "I'm sure they'll let us go!"

"Hold on, hold on, hold on," Skylar said, holding up his hands in front of him. "What do you mean, 'I'm sure they'll let us go'? Who is 'they?' And where is 'Morrowind?'"

"You really don't know?" Jiub asked with disbelief. "Well basically—quiet! Here comes the guard." Guard!

A thankfully human guard came was walking towards the two of them. Skylar had not noticed that he was on the lower deck of a ship until now. He had started to speak when the guard cut him off, not even paying attention to the odd dark-skinned Jiub, "This is where you get off." What the fuck! "Come with me." I'd really rather not. All internal dirty humor aside, Skylar followed the guard as he walked back towards the ladder leading to the next level of the ship, and quietly thanked Jiub for all he had done, though it wasn't really all that much.

The guard that had come to get Skylar wasn't much for conversation, and neither was the ship's attractive captain, which she made clear before he could even say anything. Going up above deck, Skylar had to shield his eyes from the early morning sun. As his vision became clearer he beheld a majestic… swamp. But what really caught his eye was what appeared to be a giant flea. "Holy shit!" he yelled, almost falling back below deck. "What the hell is that thing?" Another guard, this one black, merely shook his head, mumbling something about outlanders before directing Skylar toward the docks where another guard was waiting.

As Skylar walked up the dock towards what was apparently some sort of census office, the guard stopped him with the words, "You've finally arrived, but our records don't show from where."

"Your records?" Skylar remarked coldly. "You kidnap me, but have no idea where from."

"Kidnapped?" the guard retorted. "You must have hit your head on the boat ride over from Cyrodiil. You are a prisoner of the Empire, and have been sent here for a reason. Now, can you tell me where your from, or not?"

"Fine. I'm from America," Skylar said poignantly. The guard stared for a moment with a confused look then repeated his initial question of where Skylar was from. "I said I'm from America. Y'know? The land of the free and the home of the brave?"

The guard just pulled his lip up in a sneer, humphed, and said, "Well from the way you look and the way you talk, I suppose that must be some new Nord colony that was set up without the Empire's approval, which would explain why you're here."

Skylar scratched his head for a moment, his dark blond hair blowing a bit in the breeze. The guard turned and headed toward the census office and the young man stared with his cool grey eyes set smoothly in his face, which needed a good shave. Finally, Skylar started after the slightly shorter guard, who directed him inside the office.

Upon entering, he was greeted with another guard standing by a heavy wooden door and a thin, balding man with grey hair and a Van Dyke style beard standing in front of him. As Skylar approached the older man, he began to speak in a very whiny and annoying voice, "Ahh yes, we've been expecting you! You'll have to be recorded before you're officially released. There are a few ways we can do this, and the choice is yours." Skylar was a bit confused, but let the man continue on. Instead of actually giving him a choice, the man placed a scroll in front of Skylar and asked him to fill out the information. Skylar started by writing his full name in the allotted space at the top: Skylar Merriwether Hughes. Then he looked at the other sections, which were a lot more confusing. Class? Specialization? Favored Attributes? Major and Minor Skills? Skylar looked up at the old man, who just stared back, smiling. He had the strangest sudden urge for a block of cheese, but looked back at his paperwork and went to write something down.

But before he could stick the quill in the jar of ink, another sudden urge took over him. Skylar's arm and hand moved almost mechanically as he dipped the quill in the ink and began to write: Acrobat; Stealth; Agility and Endurance; Acrobatics, Athletics, Marksman, Sneak, and Unarmored under Major Skills, and Speech Craft, Alteration, Spear, Hand-to-Hand, and Light Armor under his Minor Skills. Under the area of "Birth Sign" he wrote the Tower, and, after setting the quill down and letting the ink dry, handed the scroll back to the aging man. As soon as he let go of the scroll, however, Skylar snapped back into control of himself, questioning what had just happened.

The old man looked over his papers and kind of blanched at Skylar's choice of class, but everything seemed to be in order. He told the young Acrobat to show his papers to the guard, who was apparently a captain, and then continue on through to speak with Sellus Gravius. As he walked on, he politely closed the large wooden door behind him, and then came to a room that appeared to be for use as a lounge area for the people who worked in the census office. Skylar noticed a note on the table held down by the point of a freshly sharpened knife. Surely no one would miss such a paltry item that did not seem to be worth very much, so he yanked the dagger out of the table and slipped it under his belt, letting the note slip off of and flitter silently under the table. But that is not what really caught Skylar's eye. There was a bunch of silverware on the table, and a lock-pick, too.

Picking up a nearby sack, Skylar placed all of the silverware inside of it, making sure not to make too much noise that would attract the guard just down the hall behind the door he had so thankfully closed. He also took the time to try a bit of the yellowish meat that was on one of the plates, recognizing it as some kind of crabmeat. It was not the best food he had tried, but was welcomed by his empty stomach. Skylar also partook of some nearby bread, and when he was done with it, washed it down with a drink left on the table. It was some sort of whiskey, but was not all that strong, going down smooth and quenching his thirst. It also seemed to boost his strength.

Looking over at the shelves, Skylar's eyes now fell upon a small box. It was locked, but he had the lock-pick from the table. It only took a few tries to get the box to open, and took the gold coins from within, counting thirty-one. That could be useful later on. Thirty-one solid gold coins the size of a half-dollar equaled well over a hundred dollars for sure.

Skylar finished his raid by taking the silverware off of the shelves and snatching a book titled "The Firmament" as well, in case he needed some light reading. He then checked the two nearby baskets, but all they contained was some meats and a single small, pale green gem that looked like it could have some value. As the would-be thief inspected the gem, he had the strangest sensation that it was, for some odd reason, empty or hollow. Shrugging, he placed it in his pocket and walked out the door.

The door opened up into a small courtyard. Skylar took a deep breath of the salty, humid air and exhaled. He had no clue where he was, but surely that would change soon. And either way, it seemed that he was stuck here… wherever 'here' was. Skylar began to walk across the courtyard, but stopped suddenly as a strange sensation came over him. He felt the urge to reach into the sack he had picked up to carry his pilfered items, and pulled out a map. Where it had come from he did not know, but it showed him where he was, a small port town called Seyda Neen, located on the southeastern shore of an island called Vvardenfell. Placing the map back in the sack, he continued walking to the door on the other side of the courtyard, but stopped to check out a rather randomly placed barrel. Peering inside, he saw nothing of value but a small green ring that glowed with a light of its own. Inspecting the ring, he noticed small engravings around it. The energy it emitted felt, for lack of a better word, magical. Smiling, Skylar pocketed the ring and continued on through the door.

Waiting inside was a rather ostentatiously clad man, wearing golden armor with a red undershirt and golden bracers that bore the image of a moth. This was Sellus Gravius, the man that Skylar had been told to report to. Again, before he could say anything, the Golden-clad man began to speak, "Your papers, please. First, let me take your identification papers." Skylar handed him the scroll. "Thank you. Word of your arrival only reached me yesterday."

"_Wait. He knew that I was coming?"_ thought Skylar.

"I am Sellus Gravius. But my background is not important. I'm here to welcome you to Morrowind." That word again, Morrowind. Why was it so familiar?

"M-morrowind?" Skylar asked uncertainly.

"Yes. You're in Morrowind." Gravius responded. "I don't know why you're here. Or why you were released from prison and shipped here. But your authorization comes directly from Emperor Uriel Septim VII himself." Whoa! The Emperor? "And I don't need to know any more than that. When you leave this office, you are a free man. But before you go, I have instructions on your duties." Duties… great. Work. "Instructions from the Emperor. So pay careful attention."

Sellus told Skylar all about what he was to do, who he was to go and see, and also gave him a letter that he was to give to a man named Caius Cosades. Gravius also answered a few other questions that the newly freed man had, but glared when asked about his background. Skylar took the hint, thanked the man, and left. He was ready to start this train wreck of an adventure.

**_**  
><strong>Hope you guys have enjoyed this so far. Please leave a comment if you see something wrong, or if something needs to be explained. Or just leave a review. Whatever suits ya! Next update will more than likely be Skylar getting to Balmora, if not him meeting up with Caius Cosades and a few other members of the Blades.<strong>


	2. Morrowind: Addamasartus

**Here's the second chapter of my Morrowind adventure (obviously lol). I had originally intended it to cover all of Skylar's time in Addamasartus, but realized that it would be a bit more than I had expected. So instead I just let Skylar get started. Enjoy!**  
>-<p>

Morrowind: Into Addamasartus

Skylar stepped out of the Census and Excise Office into the humid, salty air of Seyda Neen, looking at the journal that the Imperial (that's what the humans in this land were called, apparently) Sellus Gravius had given him. Following Gravius' advice, he opened the journal and took out a small quill and inkbottle for writing entries, jotting down the instructions for finding the man Caius Cosades. When he finished writing, Skylar let the ink dry for a moment, then carefully closed the book and placed all of his journal amenities into his bag of swag.

Now that he thought about it, the sack was already rather full, and much of its contents were not necessarily needed. He needed to find a place to sell some of his stuff, or it would get to be a real bother soon. Skylar turned around and immediately bumped into a small, elfish man, causing them both to fall over.

"Would you watch where you're going?" the man spat bitterly.

"Well _excuse_ me!" Skylar retorted. "I'm sorry that I was a bit preoccupied with trying to figure out how to start myself off here on Morrowind!"

Immediately Skylar saw the man flinch back just a bit, and both quickly became ashamed of their quick tempers and hot words.

"No. I'm the one who should be sorry," the small man said. "I'm just in a bit of a grumpy mood, you see. A family heirloom of mine has gone missing, an Engraved Ring of Healing, and I can't find it anywhere!"

An engraved ring? Skylar remembered the one he had found in the barrel in the Census and Excise Office's courtyard. Reaching into his bag, Skylar found the ring and presented it to the elf, saying, "I don't know if this is what you're looking for, but it's a ring, and it's engraved."

The elf's face lit up as soon as he saw the small object. "You found it! Amazing! Thank you, thank you!" This guy was getting really chummy, really fast. And his voice did NOT help either. It was probably one of the most annoying voices that Skylar had ever had the displeasure to listen to. "You are now my favorite friend. I'll be sure to tell the others, especially my friend Arrille who runs the tradehouse here. Go see him, he'll be happy to see you now!" The small man turned to walk away, but suddenly stopped and turned around. "By the way, my name's Fargoth; Bosmer, commoner, and now your friend. Safe journeys… uh…"

"Skylar," the young man finished.

"Well then, safe journeys, Skylar!" And with that, Fargoth strutted off into the little town. But some of the things he had said left a bad taste in Skylar's mouth. First of all, the people of this world were just a bit too amicable. Skylar had barely even gone anywhere, and he already had a new 'favorite friend.' And furthermore, how would this Arrille know about him? Wherever Fargoth was headed, it did not like there was a tradehouse; only a lighthouse and some lean-to shanties. Whatever, a tradehouse meant money, and that is what Skylar needed right now.

That was when Skylar realized that he had no idea where the tradehouse was. "Damn," he thought to himself. "I should've asked that Fargoth guy when I had the chance." Looking around Skylar quickly spotted another human, another Imperial. This one had red hair pulled back into a kind of Civil War period ponytail and a kind face.

Skylar decided that the best thing to do would be to confront the man directly. If he was going to make friends here, he was going to make them with other humans. Sure, he had played plenty of games with elves and other races in them, but he had never thought he would meet anyone like that in person. He walked up to the red headed man and introduced himself quickly and bluntly, "Hello there! My name is Skylar. I just got here, and wondered if you could give me a hand."

The man was not expecting a sudden conversation, and took a couple of seconds to make sense of the situation. "Well hello there, Skylar," he said. "It's a pleasure to meet you! My name is Vodunius Nuccius, commoner." Skylar decided to take note of how people introduced themselves on Morrowind: name, then social status. "What do you need, friend?"

"Well, I was told there was a tradehouse run by a man named Arrille around here, and I was wondering if you could tell me where it is."

Vodunius quickly told Skylar where the tradehouse was, which was not so hard to find, and even threw in a hint about something called a 'Silt Strider' and told Skylar to tell the caravaner, Darvame Hleran, that it was Vodunius that told him to see her. Thanking Mr. Nuccius, Skylar quickly made his way to Arrille's Tradehouse.

It was much better looking inside than out, to say the least. The proprietor, however, was not to Skylar's taste. Arrille was yet another elf-man, but much taller than the Bosmer named Fargoth. Even stranger was his yellow-greenish skin and almond shaped eyes with piercing yellow irises. As soon as Skylar got close to the man, he began to speak, as if on cue, "Welcome to Arrille's Tradehouse. I'm Arrille, publican and proprietor. Don't take what doesn't belong to you." Well that was obvious, that would be theft. And what good thief would steal in plain sight? One that would not get caught.

Skylar reeled for a moment as he realized what he was thinking. A good thief would be able to steal in plain sight without being caught? That was not him… or was it? Before Skylar could make heads or tails of his own mental epiphany, Arrille began speaking again, "You're a new face here. If you want to buy from me, you have to barter. If you want a little advice—free to new customers—just ask. Would you like to hear about our most popular potions? Our most popular scrolls?"

"Geez," Skylar said after Arrille had finished. "Think you've rehearsed that enough?"

"Why thank you, Skylar. I'm glad some people notice the effort I put into running my establishment!" Skylar was amazed that Arrille _did_ already know his name. That was just a little freaky. "And since you've been so kind in helping my friend, Fargoth, you get a discount. Small, but noticeable." Looks like Fargoth was good for something after all.

"You said I have to barter, right?" Arrille nodded his head in answer. "Well, I've only really had to barter once before. Where I'm from, most people have a set price for their stuff, but I'll do what I can." Skylar looked around a bit and saw some rather tough looking boots. They were made of brown leather and came up to his knees, with laces that went all the way up the boot. "How much for these?"

Arrille looked at them a moment before responding, "Hmmm. The netch leather boots, eh? Well normally they would sell for twenty gold, but I'll discount you for, say, eighteen."

Skylar was stunned. He knew that leather was expensive, but eighteen gold pieces? That was outrageous. "Well since we're bartering," Skylar began. "How about I offer you some of the item I don't think I'll be needing." Arrille's face lit up at the proposition of a counter offer. Skylar started off by pulling out a silverware plate and the small green stone he had found back at the Census and Excise Office and placed them on the table.

"Well!" Arrille said, smiling. "That will cover the cost of the boots just fine! But perhaps I could interest you in something of better quality?"

That Arrille knew what he was doing, already going for the up-sale. "Go on."

"I have here a lovely set of chitin boots. Twice as strong as those netch boots, and only half the weight!" So he had buttered Skylar up with the high points, but what about the cost? "And you only need to pay me those two items and seven gold."

Skylar had begun to notice how liberal Arrille was being with the local currency. Perhaps it was not worth as much as he thought. But still, he did not have that much actual gold, mostly items, and seven gold would still be a large cut in his budget for one item. "How about this, Arrille. I see that you've got some matching gear over there," Skylar pointed to a vest-like object that matched the netch leather boots. "Perhaps I could get the first pair of boots, and whatever those are over there, for the same price as the chitin ones."

He could see that Arrille was thinking the offer over. "Or," the elf continued, "I could offer you the chitin boots _and_ the cuirass that goes with it." And with that Arrille pulled out a vest-like object that was made of the same material as the white chitin boots Arrille was trying to push on him. "I'll admit, it _is_ a tad expensive for a new outlander like you, but you have more items in that bag that I'm sure you'll be able to part with, right?"

Skylar did not like the inflections that the term 'outlander' was said with, but continued to haggle instead of focus on breaking his stride. "And how much more expensive is a piece of equipment like that? I could probably by that netch, uh, cuirass and the leggings to match for the same price." Arrille was getting a bit flustered. Apparently he was not used to people putting up this much resistance, so Skylar pressed on. "I'll tell you what, buddy. You give me the leather boots and," he pointed to some chain mail folded neatly on a table behind him, "that fancy chain mail, and I'll give you these four silverware plates, the silverware pitcher, this book called 'The Firmament,' and twenty gold." Arrille was definitely at his breaking point. Skylar had pushed so much stuff on the elf so quickly that he was having difficulty adding up the cost.

"F-fine!" Arrille finally conceded. "You've got yourself a deal. I'll admit, you drive a hard bargain, but you've convinced me. The netch leather boots and imperial chain mail cuirass are yours, and for being the first person in a long time to barter with me so well, I'll even give you these!" Arrille reached beneath the counter and pulled out a helmet and a large backpack. "This coif is the complement to your chain mail, and this bag will hold your items and equipment better than that old sack of yours."

That was unexpected. "Thanks, Arrille," Skylar said, putting on his new boots. "Now I'll be ready if I'm attacked by anything!"

"Well if that's the way you feel," Arrille said, catching Skylar's attention yet again. "Then maybe you could go handle those smugglers that have holed themselves up in Addamasartus."

"Add a whatsit now?"

"Addamasartus," Arrille corrected. It's a cave just north of the Silt Strider dock to the north of Seyda Neen. Just go across the bridge here in town and turn right as you get past Eldafire's house. Go across the path and past the giant boulder and you'll see the cave's entrance. Eldafire, that paranoid woman, has been complaining for weeks about them. She won't give the guards a rest. Granted, it should be their job to go clear that place out on there own, but unless someone with authority in the Legion tells them to do it it's like training a Guar to guard your front yard, but not teaching it how to attack! I swear she gives us Altmer a bad name!"

"Altmer?" Skylar questioned.

"Yes, I am an Altmer. We Altmer, or High Elves as most others call us, have the most civilized culture in all of Tamriel. Even the Tamrielic tongue is based on our speech and writing, and most of the Empire's arts, crafts, and sciences are derived from High Elven traditions. We are gifted in the arcane arts, and our sublime physical nature makes us more resistant to disease than any of the lesser races."

Skylar had had just about enough of this man's rambling. A den of murderous smugglers sounded better than this. In fact… "Y'know what?" Skylar stated. "I think I will go and kill those guys." Anything was better than listening to Arrille for another second… well, anything except Fargoth. No wonder those two were friends. Pulling out his dagger Skylar turned to leave, but Arrille stopped him yet again.

"You're not seriously going into Addamasartus with _that_ as your weapon, are you?" Skylar just stared at the elf, who then let out a sigh and reached beneath his counter yet again. "Here," he said as he pulled out a small sword that was roughly the same color as the chitin armor. "I'll sell you this chitin short sword for that rusty old iron dagger and five gold. It's in perfect condition, I assure you, and you'll get much farther with this than with that."

"A sword sounds good to me!" Skylar exclaimed. If he was going to fight bad guys, he needed more than a knife. Though killing a bunch of bad guys with only a knife sounded a lot more badass than with a sword. "Give me that leather shield and you get the other silverware plate."

"Deal," Arrille said, and handed over both the sword and the shield in exchange for the dagger, a silverware platter, and five gold.

Putting on the rest of his newly acquired armor, Skylar suddenly felt a little more safe, though the chain mail, for some reason he couldn't explain, was not as comforting as he thought it would be. But it was probably nothing more than him not being used to wearing armor. With that, he set off for Addamasartus. As he walked through the town, people turned and looked at him, judging him before he could even speak. The guards gave a more odd look, as if they were going to address him more formally, but then their expressions quickly changed when they saw that he was just another person.

The cave was not hard to find, just as Arrille had said, but why anyone would actually have a door leading into a cave, Skylar did not know. Taking a deep breath, he mentally prepared himself. He was about to go into a cave and kill somebody. No joke. Sure, he had killed people in video games before, but it was just that. In a game. He had never been faced with actually stabbing someone before. Finally gaining his composure and courage, Skylar opened the old wooden door as silently as possible and slipped inside.

As he stepped into the cave, he closed the door behind him. It was a lot brighter than expected, but he quickly noticed that a fire that was lit just below him caused this. Next to the fire he saw a boat and another Dunmer, this one a woman. And she did not look friendly. Well, less inviting than the other dark elf he had already met anyways. Skylar decided that he would rather put off any confrontation as long as possible and crouched down, drawing his sword. He crept along the wall of the cave until he got behind her. How the woman had not noticed him, he was not sure. But he did not care either. Slowly he started creeping up behind her, and when he felt he was close enough he dashed towards the woman… who nimbly jumped aside just in the nick of time, causing Skylar to stumble and fall flat on his face.

"I was wondering when you were going to come at me, fetcher," she said calmly. If she were a snake, venom would have been dripping off of her tongue. "I didn't really think that anybody, even a stupid northern man like you, would actually try something like that. It's disappointing really. I was hoping to have a bit of—OW!" The woman had not paid enough attention to Skylar has he had reached for a rock, which found its way to her exposed forehead.

The would-be adventurer took his time getting up, dusted himself off, and began to address the woman, "You just made three mistakes: one, you led me on, and I hate it when women lead me on; two, you called me something that didn't sound too nice, and I hate it when people call me names; three, you're one of those bad guys who won't shut the hell up and fight, and I hate those kind of bad guys. So really, thank you." The woman held her bleeding forehead looking confused at what Skylar was saying. "It makes it a lot easier for me to kill you now."

Skylar charged again, expecting her to do like last time and side step, which he was prepared for. He was not, however, prepared for what she actually did, which was pull out a dagger and parry his attack. "You are foolish if you think you can kill me with such a simple tactic!" she sneered.

"Well let me know how that rock to the face worked out for you," Skylar retorted. The taunt worked, and this time she charged. Skylar easily blocked the enraged stab and shoved his sword forward, eyes closed, hoping he hit her.

He felt something slouch onto his shoulder and something warm, wet, and sticky begin to trickle onto his right hand. Opening his eyes, he saw that it was the Dunmer woman leaning on his shoulder, and realized that his small sword was sticking out of her back. Skylar let go of the sword and pushed the woman away, staring at the blood on his hand and letting her fall on her back. She was still alive.

"I'm your first, aren't I?" the woman asked, catching a shocked Skylar by surprise. His expression was all she needed. "Heh, I never thought it would be some boy who killed me. Always thought it would be my partners. Remember this feeling, boy! Never forget it! I may be an assassin, but I never did. Let this be a lesson for you. Always respect what you kill, whether it's a scrib or a politician." And with that bit of advice, she died.

_  
><strong>Le Gasp! The main character has problems killing! Now I know that even though it seems like Skylar didn't have that hard of a time killing her it's still better than how some people write. I've seen it before where a main character just goes and kills someone and doesn't think a thing of it, and I've seen it with character's that've never killed before, too. This is one of the things I always have to look out for, because I tend to do that myself, and always end up kicking myself for it. So I made sure to add some internal conflict to the story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and keep on the watch for chapter three, Morrowind: Freedom.<strong>


	3. Morrowind: Freedom

**This is chapter 3 of my Morrowind story. This time I managed to fit all of what I wanted to into it, too! Part of that is because I decided that the main problem was me focusing too much on little details-things that didn't necessarily need to be emphasized so much. Hopefully that will be evident in this chapter.**  
><strong>~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ <strong>

Morrowind: Freedom

Skylar sat on the cold floor of the cave, staring blankly at his blood-covered right hand. Only a few feet away laid the corpse of a Dunmer woman, a chitin shortsword impaled through her gut. The young adventurer was still in shock. He had killed someone. Actually killed them. This was not like the games he played, where he did not feel remorse for his enemies. This was real. As real as the blood on his hand.

The final words of the woman still rang through his head as flashbacks of the fight played over and over like a YouTube video stuck on loop in 1260 HD, "Always respect what you kill…" As the words sank in, Skylar felt tears begin to run down his cheeks. He had no right to decide to end these peoples' lives. They had done nothing to him. Yet he came to the cave anyways and attempted to murder them, and in the end he nearly lost his own life after just the first fight. It seemed that it was only by God's grace that he was alive right now.

Skylar clenched his right hand, cracking some of the dried blood that had formed. Now was no time to be wussing out. The woman who had tried to kill him had respected him. It was time for Skylar to return the favor, and respect her. Her memory. She had also mentioned that she had always expected to be killed by her partners, not anyone else. Those were not partners they were leeches. They had no intention of sharing their profits with her in the end. This woman deserved better than that, and a better life than she had been living, whether she was living the one she had by choice or not. But Skylar was not ready for another direct confrontation. Not yet.

As he stood up, Skylar noticed something odd in the firelight. A key. It had apparently slipped out of her pocket when she fell over. He bent over to pick up the key, and at the same time decided to retrieve his sword, blanching a little as a bit of blood spurted from her cooling body and onto his face. All of his common sense told him to leave, to find a place to recover and recuperate, but Skylar's curiosity told him to find out what all the key went to. He looked over to the other door she had been guarding, the one that led deeper into the cave, and saw an old lock. As quietly as he could, he slipped the key into the lock and turned, delighted to hear a surprisingly quiet click from such a weathered antique.

He slipped the door open, and, like the entrance to the cavern, closed it behind him. To his left, Skylar saw a ladder that provided sure footing up to a loft, to his right, another one that led down towards what sounded like water. He had moved one foot to his right when he heard a cough from down the pit, and quickly decided to see what was in the loft first.

As Skylar sneaked into the loft he felt safe… until he noticed several sets of yellow eyes staring at him through a fence. His heart skipped a beat. His covered had been blown. He was going to be ganged up on and slaughtered he was going to be…

"This scent is new."

Quietly… spoken to?

"What are you doing here? If smugglers see you, smugglers kill you! Foolish young boy must come over near Baadargo and the others at once!" the questioner hissed. Skylar turned around, looking into the depths of the well-lit cave to see another Dunmer facing the water. This was dressed much differently than the one at the entrance of the cave, this one wearing a robe. Skylar did not much like the looks of him, so he did as the hissing voice said, and quickly glued himself to the rickety wooden fence.

"Does boy have the key?" the one calling himself Baadargo asked.

"You mean the one I used to open the door down there?" Skylar whispered back.

The atmosphere around the fence seemed to change as he answered the question. "Then you must help Baadargo! You must help him and the Argonians!" Skylar had no idea what an Argonian was, but he could tell that Baadargo was pleading. He nodded and stuck the key in the lock that was keeping the gate in the fence closed and opened it.

As he stepped inside his jaw fell open. Standing before him were two bi-pedal lizards and a tiger-man. "Well do not just stand there!" Baadargo urged, stretching an arm to the young human. "Free us!"

Skylar looked down and realized what Baadargo (the tiger-man) was talking about. On his wrist was a glowing shackle. For some reason he could not quite figure out, the shackle seemed to be draining the cat person of something. "Dear lord!" Skylar exclaimed in a whisper. "You're all slaves!"

"What did you think we were?" asked one of the lizards, whom Skylar was shocked to realize was actually a shirtless female. "Tourists?" Skylar couldn't help but snigger a little at the humor. It was good to see that their wills were not broken yet.

"Alright. I'll let you all free," Skylar said with a smile. It turned out that some good would come of the blood about to be spilt. After he freed Baadargo and the two lizards (the Argonians), introductions were made. The female Argonian was named Banalz, and her mate was Okaw. Skylar was really starting to get uncomfortable around Banalz and her shirtlessness, so he offered his own, which was accepted with gratitude.

Okaw finally spoke, "Thank you, human. They were going to move us to a Telvanni market soon." The Argonian man's deep voice was surprisingly soothing to Skylar. "Then, it would have been almost impossible for us to be set free."

"Are you saying that slavery is legal here?" Skylar asked.

"Yes," Baadargo answered. "Here in Morrowind, Dunmer do not care for what Imperials think is wrong. The natives cherish their tradition, and slavery is a part of it!"

"Well, then. Perhaps you'd like to pay those jerks down there back, eh?" Skylar suggested.

"Perhaps," Banalz said. "But we are not fools. The robed one called Melar is a Battlemage. It uses strong spells of destruction to stop its foes… and its slaves." Skylar noticed that Banalz was speaking as if she had been on the receiving end of one of those spells, and noticed that the tip of her tail was blackened as if it had been burned. He was appalled, to say the least.

"Then what are these shackles for?" Skylar asked, holding one up. "I may not be a magician, but even I could tell that these things are enchanted to drain something from you! What if we get one on each of his wrists? Would it do us any good?"

Baadargo thought it over for a moment, weighing the possibilities. "It would be dangerous," he finally said. "Melar is quick, and slippery, like a young slaugterfish. And the other down there with him, Tanisie, she is quick and accurate with her stars. And they have another key. But there is a way to fix her. If you are quick and quiet, then you can crawl over the rocks to the left of the cage. There is a tunnel that you can follow, but be careful. A very large rat makes his home there. Very large, very aggressive. He will attack as soon as he catches your scent."

"Don't worry, my friend," Skylar responded. "I'll be sure to bring him back for you." The joke did not go over well, and Skylar quickly apologized.

"After that," Baadargo continued, "there is a pool of water. Go in and swim down a little, and you will see a small cavern. It is shallow, so you will not be in danger of drowning. That will lead you to another gate. The key you have will open it. Then you will soon see a stack of crates. Tanisie tends to stay just around the corner, so plan your attack well. We will be waiting to ambush Melar."

Great. So now he had to do more sneaking. At least he would be able to catch some food, even if it was just a little rat. Though Baadargo had said it was very large. But how large could a rat really be? Skylar thought all of this as he climbed over the rocks, and sure enough, there was the tunnel, right where the tiger-man said it would be.

What was odd about this part of the cave, though, was that the lighting changed drastically. There was some form of bioluminescent fungus growing on the walls, casting a blue hue over everything. Suddenly, Skylar found himself landing face first on the cave floor. Stifling his cry of pain, the clumsy adventurer looked to see that he had tripped over some shoulder pad. He was not quite sure because of the lighting, but it looked like more netch leather armor, and that would be useful.

As Skylar equipped the pauldron on his left shoulder he suddenly heard a very loud squeak, and around a corner further down in the cave came the largest rat he had ever seen. Its head was easily the size of his hand, and its body, from the tip of its dirty nose to the base of its naked tail, was as big as his entire upper torso. No sooner had he seen it than the rat saw him with its fiendish red eyes and begun running toward Skylar, who quickly drew his sword.

Skylar stabbed at the creature, expecting to end the fight quickly, but was surprised when _it_ sidestepped and went for his leg. He was suddenly very thankful for the boots he had bought from Arrille, and took advantage of the rodent's habitual gnawing by grabbing it by the back of the neck and shoving the sword downward, skewering the vermin's heart.

"Damn!" Skylar hissed to himself. "They sure as hell do grow 'em big here! No wonder they need their cats to be so damn big!" With that, he began to process the carcass as best he knew how with the dagger he had picked up after killing the first woman in the cave. After a quick harvest of what looked to be the best portions, Skylar shoved the meat into his pockets, wiped his sword and knife on his pants legs, and continued on, finding another pauldron, some gold, and another glowing ring. This time he put the ring on. Feeling the magic flowing through the enchantment, Skylar had the sudden urge to use it. Focusing the energy in his body, he combined it with that of the ring's enchantment and activated the spell, fortifying his agility, speed, and personality.

Suddenly he realized that he previously had no idea how to use enchanted items, and he certainly did not know how to tell what they would do. What was going on? Then he remembered that Baadargo and the others were waiting for him. He could not keep them. The longer he dilly-dallied, the more likely they were to be discovered and killed. Walking over to the edge of the cave that he was in, he looked down into the water. Forgoing the natural bridge to his right, Skylar jumped right into the water, which was unexpectedly comfortable for being in a cave.

Just as Baadargo said, there was an opening in the cave wall and he swam through it, quickly surfacing on the other side and catching his breath. Skylar did not have to swim much more, as the water soon became shallow enough to wade, and then walk through. Just up ahead was the next gate, which he opened with the key, and then silently walked though. Just up ahead he could hear voices talking.

"We need to move soon!" a male voice said with urgency. "Those guards won't ignore us for much longer, and if they catch us they'll not only take us to Pelagiad to be locked up, but they'll also free our slaves!" Skylar could only assume that the voice belonged to the Battlemage, Melar.

"Relax, Melar," a female voice responded, confirming his reasoning. "We are fine. I just finished paying off those damn Imperials so they won't be bothering us anytime soon. And if some enwa decides he's brave enough to take us on, we've got Mulvisie up there to either kill them, or let us know if they're a bit tough. Come to think of it, she hasn't been down here to complain in a while. Why don't you go up there and check on her?"

Oh shit. That was not what was needed right now.

Melar scoffed. "Fine, whatever. I'll go check on her, and I'll check on the slaves, too. Remember what happened last time we didn't pay them enough attention?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. The Argonian female ripped half of your ear off. That was your own fault."

This was bad. This was very bad. Skylar needed to act quickly. Looking by his feet, he saw a small rock. Perfect! He quietly scooped it up and, with dagger drawn, hid behind a large stalagmite and tossed it, immediately catching the Dunmer woman's attention.

"Hold on, Melar. I just heard something!"

"Relax, it's probably just that rat again. Kill it and be done with it. I'm tired of that thing stinking up the place!"

Good. Skylar could tell that she was coming to investigate. Using the stalagmite as cover he waited until she got around the corner and walked by him to quickly jump out and catch her from behind, pinning her dagger arm behind her back. He let only one cry for help escape before shoving his own dagger in her back, silencing her for good. The plan worked. As soon as Tanisie had called, Melar began to run to her aid, only to be ambushed by Baadargo and the Argonians, who hastily locked the shackles on his wrists.

The deed was done. Two of the smugglers were dead, and one was captured, his magicka being drained by the bracers. Skylar felt suddenly stronger, and at the same time very tired. But that would wait, he wanted to see what goodies those boxes held for him.

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**  
><strong>I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I did writing it. If so, please leave a review. I'm always open to criticism, so long as it is within reason. Next chapter, Skylar will be headed towards the town of Pelagiad. But he won't be alone! *dramatic fanfare*<strong>


	4. Morrowind: To Pelagiad We Go!

Morrowind: To Pelagiad We Go

Three days had passed since Skylar had cleaned out the bandits in Addamasartus. The people in the town of Seyda Neen were grateful that someone had finally taken care of it, but were divided between their thankfulness for his deed and dislike for his status as an outlander.

Nevertheless, he was rewarded by Sellus Gravius on behalf of the Empire in Morrowind, and Skylar decided to use the money to help the slaves that he had freed, buying each of them a new set of clothing and some armor and weapons from Arrille's. He figured that he owed them that much for their help in taking down the bandits.

"Hey," Baadargo said as they all sat at a table in Arrille's, a jug of sujamma in the middle of the four. "Where do you plan to go after this?"

Skylar had been rather content here for the time being. He had also forgotten about his orders to visit Caius Cosades, and the Khajiit's question reminded him. Setting down his cup, Skylar answered, "Well, I suppose I'm heading to Balmora. When I first got here I was pretty much immediately told to go find some guy named Caius Cosades there and report to him. Other than that I've not really got anything planned."

Baadargo sat back a little and nodded. "Yes. Balmora is good. Baadargo knows friends there. Good friends. They will help Baadargo, and Baadargo will help them help you."

Skylar was not overly sure about the cat's idea. They were probably all Khajiit, like Baadargo, and he was really beginning to feel the need for human company. Not that there were not any humans around Seyda Neen. In fact, he had started to get along well with the woman who worked behind the counter, Elone. Granted, she nearly knocked his head off when he first called her an Imperial, and followed up with a full lecture on all of the human races in Tamriel and their differences, but after that she was pleasant company. But most regarded him with quiet suspicion, and tended to keep any and every conversation short and to the point. Still, if there was someone open to helping him, Skylar was not about to disagree. The more help he got, the better.

"So," he finally said. "How are we going to get there? I heard that the Silt Strider here has a route directly to Balmora, and we've got the funds to make there together." Skylar had also found out that the giant flea thing was the Silt Strider Vodunius had told him about. "I say the quicker we get there, the better, because I don't personally feel like trekking through the swamp for several days and then going over steep hills just to make it to this town."

"We could guide you easily," Okaw chimed in. "We of the swamp know how. You would be safe, friend."

"No," Baadargo said abruptly. "Too many dangers in the swamp. That is where the diseased creatures go, especially the Cliffracers. I would rather get to Balmora without the Hell-Joint. I also don't want to ride the Strider. We should travel east and north, over the ridge and into the inner Ascadian-Isles region, to Pelagiad."

"I've been meaning to ask," Skylar said as the Khajiit finished. "Melar mentioned Pelagiad as well; and that's where they also took him right? What's Pelagiad like?"

"It is a small Imperial colony," Banalz answered. "Small farms, small town, big fort."

"Yes," Baadargo confirmed. "And a tavern where we can rent proper beds, and will not have to invade other's houses. But we will not stay long." He seemed to draw back into himself just a bit and shivered. "There is someone that we should avoid if possible. That someone is nothing but trouble."

"Well," Skylar said quickly. "I suppose we go to Pelagiad then. I'd rather risk a run-in with this someone than a diseased animal that I've never heard of."

"Chances are we will run into Cliffracers no matter which way we take." Baadargo said without any enthusiasm. "They are spread all across Morrowind. We will just be less likely to find a diseased one. And the kagouti and nix-hounds are also more easily avoidable."

"Then I still say we go that way. It's probably, what, a day away at the most?"

"Yes, if we leave early." Okaw said.

"So we should leave now?" All three beast-men were surprised by Skylar's question. "It's still fairly early from the position of the sun; probably no later than nine or ten. If we travel fast and don't have any delays we should make it by nightfall." He had already pulled his map out of his pack and was pointing at it.

"Yes," Baadargo confirmed.

Skylar nodded and removed his quill and ink from his bag, opened the bottle, and began drawing a path from Seyda Neen to Pelagiad. After he finished his task, he finished his cup of sujamma, corked his inkbottle, and placed all of his belongings back into the sack, then stood up. "Let's get going," was all he said.

The truth was that Skylar could not wait to get to this town. It was an Imperial colony, which meant humans; people who would be more accepting of him. That was incentive enough to get there as soon as possible. He did not even care if any of his companions followed him or not, he would make it there with or without them.

"Hey," a man in fur armor said, stepping in front of Skylar. "Would you like to help a fellow Nord down on his—OOF!"

"Outta my way, Erik the Red," Skylar demanded, pushing the much larger man back into a wall. "I've got places to be."

Outside of the town, the party of four had begun to head for the ridge that separated the coast from the inland parts of Vvardenfell. All three of the former slaves had given Addamasartus a wide berth as they passed by, and Skylar thought back to why they had really remained in town those three days. He had felt the need to explore the whole of they cave, and had found more treasure that the smugglers had either hidden, or had been there before the smugglers. That and they had all decided to clean out and sell the smugglers' stash, keeping bits of it for themselves, like the iron shield and pauldrons that Skylar had found and begun wearing. He had also been taught about the only two drugs that existed in Morrowind, Skooma and Moon Sugar; and that it all needed to be kept away from Khajiit, which Banalz and Okaw made sure of.

Skylar had also gone out one night by himself, taking the body of Mulvisie out and burying behind the lighthouse in Seyda Neen, even making a headstone for her that said only, "Respect what you kill."

Up ahead of the party was the long ridge of foothills that they would need to cross to reach the inner parts of Vvardenfell. "Now is where we need to begin to watch, friend," Baadargo warned. All of them kept their eyes peeled as they made their way up the incline. Here and there rocks came loose due to gravity, and dry grass rustled. The further they went, the quieter the sea behind them became, until at last they were in the foothills proper, and the sounds of the Sea of Ghosts was like a distant memory.

All around them the earth was cracked and grey, a startling contrast to the sickly green swamp that they had just left behind. A short distance ahead something began rustling in the bushes, and the group stopped, staring intently at the direction of the disturbance. A large purple insect scuttled out of the brush and towards the travelers, stopping suddenly at random intervals to lift its head, let out a screeching sound, and then thump its tail before continuing on.

"Scrib," Okaw said, easing the tension. "It is completely harmless, if you do not bother it. Otherwise it will defend itself by releasing a paralytic toxin."

"On the other hand," Banalz continued. "The jelly is quite good for food. It is easy to harvest, and will last. And Scribs are easy to kill."

"Well I guess the risk is worth the reward, then," Skylar said, and, taking care to stay behind the insect, quickly dispatched of it with one swipe of his blade. "There. Now, can you show me how to get the jelly out? I like the way it tastes on a piece of warm bread."

No sooner had Skylar finished speaking when all four heard the terrible screech that none of them had wanted to hear. "Cliffracer!" Baadargo shouted, drawing his knife and raising his Netch shield. Okaw did the same and Skylar readied his sword, but Banalz had drawn and knocked her bow, pulling back and aiming for the sky.

"What are you doing?" Skylar half shouted/half whispered. "Shouldn't we be looking for this Cliffracer thing?"

"I have already found it," was all she said and let her arrow fly, cursing shortly after and causing another screech to rip through the air around them. That's when everyone else looked up to see the beast in question.

Skylar was stunned. He had only ever seen anything like this back home in the dinosaur books he would read when he was little. Its body was long and slender with a long neck leading to a small head with a wicked looking beak on one end, and a longer tail with a nasty looking spike on the other. Along the top of the creature's back was a large dorsal fin that perfectly matched the two wings on either side of the creature in appearance. He also noticed a small fold of dry skin that seemed to circle the tail of the Cliffracer and pointed it out asking, "What's that around its tail?"

Baadargo looked at what Skylar was pointing at and his eyes widened. "It's a Girdle-tail! Banalz, kill that thing before it has a chance to reach us!" 

"She is trying!" Banalz hissed back as she let another arrow loose, again missing her mark. "But it is quick!"

"Wait," Skylar said, sheathing his sword. "I have an idea. Banalz, you keep firing arrows at it to keep it at bay. If you hit it: good; if you don't: that's what I'm getting to. I picked up some throwing stars while we were cleaning out Addamasartus. If you can make it go one way, I can trick it and try and hit it when it dodges your arrow."

"No good," was Banalz's response, letting off another arrow that missed. "We switch." She quickly shoved both the bow and quiver of arrows into Skylar's hand, and snatched away the throwing stars that he had just retrieved from a pouch he had bought and tied to his belt. "You herd the beast. She will spring the trap."

Skylar just shrugged. He was going to let her use the bow, but if she thought she was better with the stars, he was not going to argue. Skylar actually preferred the bow since he was on his high school's archery team his last two years, albeit using a compound bow. This, though, was not much different. The only major factor missing was the arrow rest and sights, the latter of which he had never liked using anyway.

As the Cliffracer circled around for another attempt to get close, Skylar knocked the bow and drew back, aiming the bow as he did. Once the fletching of the arrow had reached the corner of his mouth and he had his target area, he let the arrow fly. All in all it had taken three seconds to do all of that, two seconds for the arrow to reach the target area, and a total of five seconds to hear the Cliffracer's dying screech as the arrow pierced its throat.

Skylar was not unnerved by the other three's awestruck stares and merely stated, "Well, that was a fluke. I was aiming for the damn thing's wings. Now, would anyone mind telling my how to get that jelly out…" _Thud!_ The Cliffracer hit the ground right behind him. "… And what the hell the difference is between a regular Cliffracer and a Girdle-tailed Cliffracer."


End file.
